A Tale of the Favorite Blankie: Lessons Learned Through Parenting Adventures
Today, I was on a mission to get my posts and blogs ready when I stumbled upon an image of my third’s favorite blankie. I reflected on this and I decided I would write a story about “mimi”. Why you ask? Well, because this mimi has taught me some important lessons, parenting tips, and insights.
How it Started
Who would have thought that 21 years ago, a purchase I made for my oldest would be a family favorite? I purchased this Winnie the Pooh blankie for my oldest daughter for her to snuggle with. She liked the blankie and used it at night, however, when her little sister was born, she decided to pass it down. At the time, I thought it was the cutest, most wonderful thing ever.
Some years have passed, and my third was born. Well, it seems it was time to pass mimi along. My son received the beloved mimi from his sister and instantly fell in love. Once again, I thought this was so precious and was super excited to pass this blankie on to my fourth. To my surprise, this was not going to happen. My third fell in love with this mimi so much there was no way he was going to give it up.
My fourth, not knowing what he was missing, got a brand new blankie and moved on with his life. I thought the mimi saga ended and resided in the fact that it will live with my third forever. However, the mimi story did not end there. Blankie became a part of our lives and has gone through a lot, traveled the world, and has seen a good share of washers and dryers. As you can imagine, mimi started to look a bit different then from the day I purchased it, and this is where I learned some parenting lessons.
After about eighteen years, mimi wasn’t looking so well. You can no longer really see what mimi originally looked like. I retired the washer and dryer and would wash mimi by hand, mending when needed as the fabric became more and more worn out. At this point, I wish I knew this:
· Buy more than one of the favorite blankies as soon as you see that your child has a favorite
· Wash it when they are sleeping to reduce the crying from mimi being taken away
· After 5 years, I recommend hand washing and line drying to reduce wear
· Don’t assume that just because you bought something that is super popular, you will be able to find that same mimi again.
I think that at this point, you know where I am going with this. My journey to find a replacement for mimi as my son would fearfully look at me each night, having me reassure him that his favorite blankie would somehow last forever. So, as any other mom, or parent, out there, I hit the online search. I googled and googled Winnie the Pooh blankets for days, months even. There are a million Winnie the Pooh blankets out there, but not one of them looks like mimi. I started to get a bit worried about this and brainstormed some more.
Since no one can make out the image on the blankie anymore, I had to look through numerous photos to assure my son that I am indeed trying to find the right one. After I exhausted Google, I hit eBay. What did I learn from this adventure:
· Mimi was even hard to find on resale sites
· You have to put in some time every other day or so to find mimi (which brings me back to buy more than one of whatever the favorite lovie is LOL)
· Don’t give up
After months, I have concluded that every other baby that ever got this blankie also fell in love with it, and no one is looking to sell it. Another theory is that all the blankies are sitting in attics and basements worldwide, and I will never find one again. Almost ready to give up, I headed to eBay one last time and learned that miracles happen. On this day I finally found mimi!!!!!!
After a few emails with this wonderful human and explaining my situation, this parent decided to give me a deal. I was super excited and purchased the blankie on the spot. Days went by as I waited anxiously for the mimi to arrive. I did not tell my son, and I really wanted to surprise him. The day finally came!!!
New Mimi
New mimi arrived and I ran as fast as I could to find my son. I let him open the package and watched, anticipating shouts of joy and cheer. Well, guess what, lesson number three; after all these years, original mimi has a smell, feel, and look that new mimi just does not.
Was my son happy? Yes! Did we compare the new and old mimi? Yes!! Did we learn about fabric shrinkage over time? Yes! But still not the mimi he loves and holds dear to his heart.
New mimi does sleep with my son, however, old mimi still clings to my son the most while he sleeps. New mimi is adjusting and does get some love, it is starting to have that special smell, but old mimi will most likely stay with my son until it resembles a string. I love that he has this special blankie that was passed down from his oldest sister and I hope that my children will have some sort of passing on tradition when they start their families as well.
Going Forward
I write this blog to reflect on this beautiful tradition that I didn’t even know I started and to let other parents know that it is okay not to know everything when you are starting your parenting journey. I am still learning!!! Mimi’s adventure taught me lessons and tricks I wish I knew sooner, and I want to pass them on to all parents out there.
My son’s love of mimi taught me to cherish the things in life that you love; you can’t easily replace the things you love with new shiny things, making mistakes (of all kinds) and not knowing that you should buy three of every lovie at a time and alternate them is okay; and that making an effort pays off. I am happy that I was able to get the new mimi, maybe it will be passed on to a grandchild one day, and I am ok with learning that making mistakes is part of the parenting process.
So go ahead and give yourself a break and just do your best. Mimi and my son taught me that! Happy 21th mimi!!!
